Shopping In The Past

This year our museum shop underwent the biggest transformation in its history, to create a shop that truly represents St Fagans and its collections and allows our visitors to take a piece of St Fagans home with them!

One of the most special things about St Fagans is the variety of buildings and exhibits, we therefore decided to turn the museum shop into one inspired by a department store. Rather than traditional departments such as toys or food, each area of our shop represents a different building or exhibit from across the museum. We have even created a soundscape so visitors can hear the noises of the school playground, farm or sweet shop as they shop from those department.

Working with many local and Welsh suppliers, we have created over 230 new products inspired by the museum. They are packed with stories; from cakes made by the relatives of the original Gwalia Stores baker to an unfinished patchwork from the collection that has inspired a range of handbags and purses. From love spoons to Welsh cakes, items handmade by our craftspeople to school stationery, the shop is an experience in itself. 

We hope visitors will be able to enjoy the museum shop as a ‘best of’ experience; all the highlights of a visit to St Fagans represented through a huge variety of products, and what’s better, every purchase supports the museum.

It’s not just the museum shop that we have been developing though, over at Siop Losin we have created a 1920s inspired period shopping experience. Visitors can now admire the 1920s inspired displays, meet staff in costume and choose from a huge selection of traditional sweets that are weighed out in front of their very eyes! The smells, sights and sound of the past have been recreated through historical research, and we’ve worked with small artisan and Welsh businesses to allow visitors to taste the past now too! The packaging and designs of the products are all inspired by 1920s confectionery and a Siop Losin tote bag has become a sought-after item.

We hope you’ll be able to join us for a fun day out across the summer and call by Siop Losin and the museum shop to experience a taste of the past!